Life at OSUhttp://today.oregonstate.edu/
enThu, 15 Feb 2018 16:08:33 -0800Thu, 15 Feb 2018 16:08:33 -0800OSU will require all students to report past felony convictions before enrolling for class<a href="http://today.oregonstate.edu/news/osu-will-require-all-students-report-past-felony-convictions-enrolling-class">view</a>
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Oregon State University announced Thursday a new policy that will require all new and continuing students to self-report past felony convictions and registered sex offender status before enrolling in fall 2018 classes.
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CORVALLIS, Ore – Oregon State University announced Thursday a new policy that will require all new and continuing students to self-report past felony convictions and registered sex offender status before enrolling in fall 2018 classes.
The new policy also provides support for these students’ educational success and for community safety.
“This policy affirms OSU’s almost 150-year land grant mission to welcome all educationally qualified students, including those rehabilitated from past crimes,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “Equally important, this policy prioritizes educational support and success for all students, and the safety of everyone in our community.
“The purpose of this self-disclosure policy is not to prevent students with these histories from enrolling, but rather to support the safety of the OSU community, and to support these students’ success as they progress through their education onto graduation.”
The university already requires students to self-disclose certain felonies to live in a residence hall. As well, full criminal history checks with law enforcement agencies are required for employment or volunteering in sensitive university programs, such as working with minors. Steve Clark, OSU vice president for university relations and marketing, said the university receives reports from Oregon State Police regarding registered sex offenders attending OSU and precludes those students from living in the residence halls or working with minors. Meanwhile, some university programs do not accept students with certain felony histories, such as counseling programs in the College of Education and programs in the College of Pharmacy.
“This new policy advances many years of programming and commitment by Oregon State in student success and community safety,” Clark said.
Going forward, a university committee will conduct a confidential case-by-case review of each of the self-disclosing students’ situations. Clark said OSU’s dean of student life then will determine any extracurricular engagement and participation limitations or requirements needed for safety involving a self-disclosed student. The dean also will provide support to self-disclosed students in their engagement activities. Clark also said OSU’s director of Public Safety periodically will meet individually with each self-disclosed student.
“Where there is not a safety risk posed by the student participating in an activity, OSU will support the student’s participation in programs and activities, and their success,” Clark said.
The new policy was recommended by a task force that Ray charged last year to review OSU’s admission and attendance policies for prospective students with prior criminal histories. The task force was made up of representatives from faculty, students and university administrative offices.
Clark said the university did not want to require the self-reporting of past felonies during the application process because national studies have shown that this could act as a barrier for many students, especially for students of color, to enroll in college. Instead, the university’s new policy enables students to apply; be admitted and continue as students at OSU; and only then self-disclose a felony history or registered sex offender status prior to enrolling.
“This policy is not about this university’s public image,” Ray said. “It is about serving OSU’s educational mission, supporting student success and prioritizing community safety. This policy and all of my decisions always will be in alignment with Oregon State’s mission, values and commitments.
“We want all students to have the knowledge of OSU’s strongly held belief in the power of education. We want all students to know the benefits that are provided all students by their engagement and participation in experiential learning opportunities. Moreover, we want them to understand that Oregon State promotes the opportunity for all individuals, including those who are rehabilitated, to develop their talents and contribute as members of society.”
</div>Sean Nealon58706 at http://today.oregonstate.eduThu, 15 Feb 2018 16:08:33 -0800Life at OSUSong commemorates Oregon State’s 150th anniversary<a href="http://today.oregonstate.edu/news/song-commemorates-oregon-state%E2%80%99s-150th-anniversary">view</a>
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Oregon State University has unveiled a new song that commemorates the university’s 150th anniversary and portrays the power of learning and the contributions OSU has made to Oregonians and the state since its founding in 1868.
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CORVALLIS, Ore – Oregon State University has unveiled a new song that commemorates the university’s 150th anniversary and portrays the power of learning and the contributions OSU has made to Oregonians and the state since its founding in 1868.
The song, “A Special Place,” was written by Jan Looking Wolf Reibach, an award-winning Native American musician and an instructor in the OSU College of Liberal Arts.
“I really tried to capture what a beautiful place Oregon State is,” Reibach said. “I was inspired by the journey students take to get here and the dedication of faculty.”
Reibach, an enrolled Kalapuya Native American who teaches Native American flute at Oregon State, spent more than 200 hours working on the piece. He spent more time on the song compared to any other on his 22 commercial albums. Reibach’s great-great grandfather was Chief Joseph Sangretta of the Santiam Kalapuya People, who lived in the mid-Willamette Valley for more than 14,000 years.
He premiered the song, joined by the Oregon State Choralaires at Oregon State President Edward J. Ray’s State of the University Address on Feb. 1 in Portland, which included 800 attendees at the annual event.
Steve Clark, Oregon State’s vice president of university relations and marketing, said the university commissioned the song to help commemorate OSU150 – the university’s 150th anniversary, a 15-month celebration that includes a series of events and activities through October.
“The song poignantly captures what we are about here at Oregon State,” Clark said. “We provide the chance for learning, economic opportunity and prosperity for all Oregonians and our state’s communities. We hope to hear this song through the next 150 years of the university.”
The lyrics to the song follow:
Sunrise over the mountain, bringing light to this land.
150 years of knowledge, with hope and our dreams...let it shine.
Oregon State University, generations, hand-in-hand.
Wisdom comes like the rain down to the rivers into the ocean...let it flow.
To a higher place of connection, where dreams become reality.
To a special place of transformation, Oregon State University!
The winds of change arrive, singing softly through the trees.
Together we spread our wings to soar, floating on the wind...we rise above.
To a higher place of connection, where dreams become reality.
To a special place of transformation, Oregon State University!
To a higher place of connection, where dreams become reality.
To a special place of transformation, Oregon State University!
</div>admin58641 at http://today.oregonstate.eduTue, 06 Feb 2018 14:21:01 -0800Life at OSUOSU president calls for efforts to address nation’s educational achievement gap, shares Portland region expansion plans <a href="http://today.oregonstate.edu/news/osu-president-calls-efforts-address-nation%E2%80%99s-educational-achievement-gap-shares-portland-region">view</a>
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Oregon State University President Edward J. Ray today called upon Oregonians and higher education institutions nationally to educate far more students from less wealthy families.
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PORTLAND, Ore – Oregon State University President Edward J. Ray today called upon Oregonians and higher education institutions nationally to educate far more students from less wealthy families.
In his annual State of the University Address to more than 800 people at the Portland Convention Center, Ray said since 1970 the likelihood of graduation from college for students from families in the highest income bracket increased from 44 percent to 85 percent. Yet over the same time, for students from families in the lowest income bracket, the likelihood of graduation increased from 6 percent to only 9 percent.
“This is shameful,” Ray said. “We have literally doubled the educational attainment gap, and higher educational institutions are complicit in worsening income inequality across America. Oregon should care about this achievement gap. I ask each of you to join me – and Oregon State University – in addressing this crisis of inequity.”
Ray said Oregon State will address this challenge by expanding support programs for student success for OSU students; expanding its OSU-Cascades campus in Bend; offering learner programs through OSU Extension; and expanding academic programs offered by Oregon State in the Portland region.
“Serving the region is part of our mission as Oregon’s statewide university and complements the work we do in Corvallis and Bend, as well as major OSU initiatives,” Ray said.
Oregon State’s Portland plans include a decision to centralize some existing Oregon State regional programs and offices within an expanded presence in the historic Meier & Frank Building in downtown Portland adjacent to Pioneer Courthouse Square.
The Portland initiative will seek to serve unmet learner needs by providing innovative programs through online and in-person instruction.
“We are developing -- and plan to unveil this fall -- hybrid online graduate and undergraduate offerings in the fields of business, cybersecurity, and human development and family sciences,” Ray said.
The initiative will use a hub-and-spoke system, in which the Meier & Frank Building space is the hub of Oregon State’s Portland region operations. Other OSU locations throughout the Portland area will represent the spokes. The effort will help unify OSU programs in the Portland region, including Oregon State’s Food Innovation Center in The Pearl; teaching and research partnerships between OSU’s colleges of Pharmacy and Engineering and Oregon Health and Science University; educational programs with local school districts; and Extension programming in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties.
Ray called on the state Legislature this month to support $39.5 million in state bonding for a second classroom building at OSU-Cascades.
“Without such support, the Legislature will ignore the demand for higher education in the fastest growing region in Oregon,” Ray said. “As we look to the future, we must be unwavering in our commitment to success for all students – wherever they may be.”
Ray also shared results from a just-released economic impact study, which he said underscored OSU’s transformative role as Oregon’s statewide university. Conducted by ECONorthwest, the study found that Oregon State’s gross economic and societal impact in 2017 totaled $2.71 billion – up $343 million from three years ago.
OSU operations were responsible for supporting 30,451 jobs statewide. In Portland, OSU was responsible for $281.8 million in gross economic activity and 3,884 jobs. Statewide that number will only grow as OSU expands its facilities and programs. For example, OSU-Cascades is expected to contribute $134.4 million and 2,083 jobs to the state’s economy in 2025, more than a threefold increase since 2015.
In addition, Ray provided an update on OSU’s Student Success Initiative, which he launched two years ago with two main goals: to raise first-year retention rates for all undergraduate students to 90 percent and raise six-year graduation rates for all undergraduate students to 70 percent.
A year ago, the OSU Foundation’s Board of Trustees committed to raise $150 million to support the student success initiative. Ray announced that the foundation has already raised $79 million.
He also said students are already feeling the impact of the initiative. For example, last June OSU graduated 400 more students with financial need compared to four years ago. And 43 percent of graduates had no debt when they earned their degrees. The national average is 32 percent.
This year’s State of the University event coincides with OSU150, the 15-month celebration of the university’s 150th anniversary, which will continue through October. Ray outlined several key upcoming events:
On Feb. 10, a seven-month exhibit, “Oregon State University: A Legacy of Transformation,” opens at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland.
On Feb. 15, “Saving Atlantis,” an OSU-produced documentary that tells the story of how OSU researchers are working to save the world’s coral reefs, will be shown at OMSI in Portland. Subsequent screenings will be held in Corvallis and Newport.
Next fall, OSU will bring together scientists and national thought leaders to consider how the 21st century economy and society will be shaped by artificial intelligence and robotics.
During the speech, Ray also listed many notable achievements for OSU in the past year. These included:
In June, OSU graduated its largest class ever, with 6,807 students.
In fall, enrollment totaled 31,904 students, making OSU Oregon’s largest university for the fourth straight year.
In 2017, grant-funded research at OSU totaled a record $441 million – a 31 percent increase over 2016. This included a $122 million National Science Foundation grant to build a regional research vessel that will be stationed at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.
The College of Forestry being ranked second in the world; the ocean studies program being ranked third in the world; the College of Agricultural Sciences being ranked 10th nationally; and the online liberal arts degree offerings being ranked first in the nation.
U.S. News & World Report for the fourth year in a row judging OSU’s Ecampus online undergraduate programs among the nation’s best – with a No. 6 ranking.
An anonymous donor contributing $25 million to help build a $60 million arts and education complex on OSU’s Corvallis campus.
And, just two weeks ago, a $50 million gift, the largest gift in the university’s history, to rename the College of Veterinary Medicine the Gary R. Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine.
</div>Carol Andrews58571 at http://today.oregonstate.eduThu, 01 Feb 2018 15:42:53 -0800Life at OSUOSU board of trustees proactively plans for financial future<a href="http://today.oregonstate.edu/news/osu-board-trustees-proactively-plans-financial-future">view</a>
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The Oregon State University Board of Trustees on Friday accepted a 10-year university business forecast that reflects plans to invest in strategic university student initiatives, manage expenses, increase enrollment strategically and offset cost increases including employee retirement benefits.
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CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State University Board of Trustees on Friday accepted a 10-year university business forecast that reflects plans to invest in strategic university student initiatives, manage expenses, increase enrollment strategically and offset cost increases including employee retirement benefits.
“This forecast is an important tool that will be updated every two years to support the university’s mission to bring an affordable education to all qualified Oregonians, conduct globally important research and fulfill OSU’s outreach and engagement mission as Oregon’s statewide university,” said OSU President Ed Ray.
The forecast provides a financial framework to advance OSU’s student success initiatives, support student financial aid goals and other priorities. University officials reported to trustees that enrollment increases in Ecampus, the university’s top-ranked online education program, at OSU-Cascades in Bend, and through programming in Portland and other learner initiatives are expected to help alleviate the need for significant budget reductions due to continued increases in employee benefit costs. The plan calls for the university to maintain its commitment to increase enrollment on its main Corvallis campus slowly to 28,000 by 2025.
“The 10-year forecast provides a tool for the board and university management to consider when making decisions today,” said Mike Green, vice president for finance and administration. “This forecast provides the long-term context to help ensure that the university can achieve its mission and strategic priorities while maintaining its solid financial footing.”
In addition to accepting the 10-year forecast, the board increased the capital budget for the Oregon Forest Science Complex, which is currently under construction in Corvallis and will house the College of Forestry, by $11.5 million, to a total of $79.5 million. The additional project expense occurs as construction costs nationally and in Oregon have risen rapidly with inflation and the strong national economy. The increased costs will be covered by the College of Forestry through the sale of over-mature timber growing on lands owned by the university and College of Forestry finances.
The board also heard a report on initiatives underway throughout the university to advance equity, inclusion and social justice. The plan focuses on five goals: (1) integrating and advancing inclusive excellence; (2) improving recruitment of students and employees from underrepresented communities; (3) creating an inclusive climate to support the retention and success of students and employees; (4) providing innovative learning experiences to advance inclusive excellence among students and employees; and (5) communicating OSU’s efforts and outcomes related to inclusivity.
Trustees elected Rani Borkar chair of the board and Kirk Schueler vice chair of the board beginning July 1.
Ray announced to the board that he would donate to OSU student scholarships and student success programs a 6 percent change in his compensation that trustees approved during the meeting. Trustees approved the raise by a 10-2 vote, bringing Ray’s annual compensation, effective Jan. 1, 2018, to $764,136, of which the university pays $335,550. The balance of Ray’s compensation is paid by the OSU Foundation. The increase follows a positive review of Ray’s annual performance. The university provided merit compensation increases to faculty and professional faculty that ranged up to 6 percent and averaged 3 percent within individual university departments.
“I’m privileged to serve this university,” Ray said. “As in past years, I will give more than this increase to student scholarships and support programs that directly benefit the students of Oregon State University.”
Ray has served as Oregon State’s president since 2003 and his compensation puts him in the mid-range of compensation paid the leaders of Pac-12 universities and more than a dozen peer universities nationally.
The board also heard updates on OSU’s strategic planning efforts and legislative priorities and reports on university outreach and engagement programs, such as OSU Extension, and the teaching and research occurring within the College of Public Health and Human Sciences. Board members toured college facilities, met with faculty and students and learned about research efforts involving nutrition, healthy lifestyles and environmental toxicity, and work with handicapped children and older Oregonians.
</div>Carol Andrews58476 at http://today.oregonstate.eduTue, 23 Jan 2018 10:34:10 -0800Life at OSUTemporary Change in Leadership at College of Forestry<a href="http://today.oregonstate.edu/news/temporary-change-leadership-college-forestry">view</a>
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Oregon State University’s College of Forestry Dean Thomas Maness announced this week his intention to begin immediately an approximate six-month change in responsibilities to attend to personal matters.
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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University’s College of Forestry Dean Thomas Maness announced this week his intention to begin immediately an approximate six-month change in responsibilities to attend to personal matters.
As a result, from January 17 to June 30, Executive Associate Dean Anthony S. Davis will serve as acting dean of the college
The temporary changes occurs at a very important time within the college, as it continues to work on the Oregon Forest Science Complex and expand on the excellent teaching, research, and outreach and engagement that has built one of the finest forestry programs in the world and a source of great pride for Oregon State University.
Maness is expected to return to serving as dean by July 1, at which time, Davis will return to his executive associate dean role.
</div>Carol Andrews58471 at http://today.oregonstate.eduTue, 23 Jan 2018 10:30:06 -0800Life at OSU